Hosting the Twentieth Annual Wet Paint Festival

June 1st and 2nd was a great weekend for the Trust as we hosted the Twentieth Annual Wet Paint Festival!

The festival, sponsored by Gallery North, is a unique two-day outdoor event featuring art, music, food and walking tours. Visitors have the opportunity to observe dozens of painters working at their easels in an outdoor setting.

And – for the first time, The Wet Paint Festival was held on a Trust property – the beautiful Tyler Homestead at 97 Main Street in Setauket.
The Tyler Homestead is located in the heart of Setauket’s historic Main Street.The home dates back to the mid-1700’s and was built with trees hewed from the surrounding area. It is widely recognized that the Tyler House is one of the finest examples of a historic American farmhouse. The home was an important acquisition for the Trust not only because of its unique history, but because Patriots Rock Historic Site is part of the 3 acre property! The Trust’s mission is “Protecting the Places You Love!”

As the center of this year’s festival, the Tyler Homestead served as the hub for artists as they explore and paint the nearby landmarks – the Frank Melville Memorial Park, Patriot’s Rock Historic Site, the Caroline Church, the Setauket Green, the Emma Clark Library and the three Immigrant Factory Worker Houses.

Our volunteers created a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for the art festival!
There were loads of compliments from the Gallery North staff for the tremendous cooperation of the Trust members in preparing the site, navigating the paperwork, attending numerous site visits, maintaining our booth, and responding to numerous major and minor requests.  Well Done!

Big kudos for Michael Rosengard – he transformed both Patriots Rock and the Tyler grounds with more landscaping work than imaginable! The two sites were magical! Michael has both enviable energy and vision. Ps: And, on Saturday, he took everything to a different level – by creating a ‘Native American campground’ and in the woods of Patriots Rock that was simply remarkable!

Thanks many go to Dave Tracy for telling the story of Patriots Rock and the Battle of Setauket!  Parker Mones captured everyone’s attention with the details of the workings of the Brown Bess musket used at the Battle of Setauket. And Setalcott member Helen Sells – standing on the ‘campground’ told so many fascinating stories of her people!! A mesmerizing speaker!

Much appreciation to Robert Reuter and Judi Wallace (Who did two shifts!) for taking down our booth and materials on Sunday – and getting everything back to the Bruce House. And thanks to Dave Fortuna for doing the same on Saturday!

Our ‘Booth Team’ for the weekend was on time and on task! You are great: Gretchen Oldrin Mones, Katherine Downs-Reuter, Alex Goldman, Alice D’Amico, Ann Robitsek, Sandy Krolik, Dave Fortuna, Judi Wallace, Joan Cook, Hope Kinney, Robert Reuter, and Parker Mones.